The layoffs, said the union, will come despite job security provisions in its five-year contract with Titan, signed in December 2005. The contract apparently included a provision that Titan could layoff workers if former Freeport plant owner Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. decreased its purchases from Titan.
Titan, said the union in news reports, sold ATV tires and rubber stock to Goodyear, purchases of which have dropped.
The Freeport employs some 700 union workers, said the USW.